


What Binds Us

by lirallya



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-29 02:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30149193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lirallya/pseuds/lirallya
Summary: It was cruel, Aloy thought, that Erend should have to suffer the death of his sister twice.
Relationships: Aloy & Erend (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Aloy & Rost (Horizon: Zero Dawn), Erend & Ersa (Horizon: Zero Dawn)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6
Collections: 30PlusFanfic Prompt Channel Fics





	What Binds Us

**Author's Note:**

> This is a response to the "No, please" 30+ Fanfic Server Weekly Prompt Challenge.

It was cruel, Aloy thought, that Erend should have to suffer the death of his sister twice.

When Aloy first arrived in Meridian she found him drunk on whisky and grief, having just learned of Ersa’s murder at the hands of the Shadow Carja. He was nothing like the jovial man she’d met back in the Embrace; Erend’s bright, merry eyes turned hard and dark, his once easy smile held hostage by sorrow. 

When she helped him discover the truth—that it had been Dervahl and the Oseram, that the body laying in Meridian did not belong to Ersa—Aloy watched cautious hope flicker back to life on Erend’s face. 

She watched Erend now, bent over Ersa’s failing body, all of his hope drained away. Their faces were close, and though Aloy couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, the bond they shared was evident. 

A pang of loneliness hit her unexpectedly. Even as an outcast, with only one real human connection in the world, Aloy too had felt loss. She thought of Rost, how they didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye. His last word to her wasn’t an expression of fondness, a poignant farewell; it was a command— _survive_. 

Survive is exactly what Aloy had done. She survived the fall over the cliff’s edge. She battled her way through corrupted machines to get to Daytower. She braved the wide world beyond the Embrace, alone, spurred on by her pursuit of justice. That fury carried her to Meridian. She hadn’t intended to stay; it was just meant to be a stop on her way to find Olin and the killers, but something about Erend compelled her to help.

Ersa coughed again—a wet, shaky sound—drawing Aloy’s attention away from her own thoughts. Ersa exhaled one last shuddering breath before she went limp in her brother’s arms. 

“Ersa? _No_. Please…” Erend’s head dropped and his shoulders slumped forward. He clutched Ersa to his chest, convulsing with silent sobs.

Aloy’s jaw ached, and it suddenly occurred to her it wasn’t a side effect from the concussive impact of her tearblast arrows; her throat constricted, facial muscles taut with effort. It took all her remaining strength to keep from crying.

For the first time Aloy thought she understood Erend, understood _people_. Maybe this is what bound people together—shared pain. An unspoken understanding that life is fleeting and fragile. That the ones you care about always find a way to leave, eventually. And the way to ease the suffering is to connect with others, to form those same bonds that will only bring more pain when they're severed by time or circumstance. 

Erend looked up at her then, his eyes wet and shimmering.

“Erend, I’m so sorry…” Aloy trailed off before her voice could break.

Erend regarded her with a grim set of his jaw. He returned a single, curt nod. "Dervahl is planning to attack Meridian. We have to go back. We have to warn Avad." 

Aloy had to give Erend credit for how steady he managed to keep his voice. She nodded. "Let me have a look around first. See if there's any hint about what he's planning."

Aloy scanned the room with her Focus, gathering information and trying to give Erend space to grieve. She wasn’t sure exactly what to say, or how to act, so she focused on the task at hand until Erend spoke to her again.

"Ersa...we can't—I can't just leave her here," Erend said, his voice pleading.

Aloy paused. It would slow them down, carrying her body all the way back to Meridian. That was time they couldn't afford to lose with Dervahl already ahead of them. But the look on Erend's face, the desperation in his voice…“Alright, Erend. Of course.”

They wrapped Ersa carefully in what bits of cloth and canvas they could find. Gingerly, they laid her body in a cart. They spent most of the walk back to Meridian in silence, the quiet punctuated here and there only by the scrape of the wagon wheel over the rocky path. 

The silence allowed her time to gather her thoughts. After they returned to Meridian, stopped Dervahl, and gave Ersa a proper burial, Aloy would have to say goodbye to Erend. She had to move on—to find the killers, and to find the mystery woman. There were larger forces at play, and she wouldn’t be able to rest until she got some answers. Aloy had no idea if her travels would ever bring her back to Meridian, but she felt with certainty this would not be the last time she saw Erend.

She glanced over at him as they walked. His gaze was resolute, fixed on the road in front of them. In spite of the circumstances, the tragedy that surrounded them, Aloy felt the warmth of kinship. Their friendship had sparked at the Proving, but their bond was forged in the fire of this fight. There was still so much that could go wrong, so many more fights they might not survive, but Aloy felt— _knew_ —whatever happened, they'd have each other's backs. If she learned anything from Rost, it was that you never truly let go of the people you care for.

They crested a rise, and Meridian's towers and the Spire rose up in the distance. Erend turned his head towards her, a brief smile ghosting across his lips. Aloy nodded, and they picked up their pace.

Once this was all over, Aloy resolved to return to the Embrace. She'd go back to her and Rost’s former home. There hadn't been time after the Proving; events had unfolded in rapid succession, leaving no opportunity to for a final farewell. Aloy would build Rost a proper grave there. The memorial he deserved, to honor him for all the things he'd done—all that he'd taught her, all that he'd sacrificed for her. 

Would Rost be proud of her, if he could see her now? She hoped so. And what would Rost think of Erend? She had a feeling they'd get along.

Aloy smiled. She had so much to tell him.


End file.
